Love Cats

There’s only a couple of weeks left before the new Annual catalogue launches! But before I start sharing new products I’m spending some time saying goodbye to some of the retiring products. Each week I’ve been featuring one or more retiring products in my projects and this week it’s the Love Cats. I’m pairing it up with this week’s sketch challenge from the Paper Craft Crew (PCC513). It’s a vertical sketch challenge…

Love Cats

I knew I wanted to use the Love Cats in the centre. So I tried to think of what would look cool behind it. I decided to use the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper. Another one of my favourites that I’m sad is retiring. Using Basic Black for my card base and ink colour, I thought the rainbow colours would really pop.

I used the Layering Circles dies to frame the kitty. Then behind that I put some gold metallic thread. I popped that all up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. And to finish it off I added a few of the gold Pastel Adhesive-Backed Gems.

Love Cats

I’m so sad that Love Cats is retiring. But I’m probably more upset about the Layering Circles dies.

Check out last week’s card featuring the By the Bay DSP and Friends are like Seashells stamp set here. Last time I checked these were all still in stock, but it has been a couple of days so who knows now.

And don’t forget to check out all the other Paper Craft Crew challenge cards here.

Mystery Fun Fold

I found a picture of this mystery fun fold on Pinterest. It’s nice and simple! And I haven’t tried it before so I thought I’d give it a go. Plus it’s a fun way to show off some of the By the Bay Specialty Designer Series Paper that’s retiring very soon.

To figure out my colour combination I started with picking my DSP design. I love the main design I used for this card because it has a few different colours and I love all the seashells. When I was younger I loved exploring beaches looking for seashells.

For the card base I used Pool Party. I also used Pool Party ink for some tone on tone stamping. I wanted a little something behind the strip of Sahara Sand DSP. On top of the strip of DSP I stamped a sentiment from Friends are like Seashells in Petal Pink. Then I die cut the sentiment with one of the Something Fancy dies and popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. To finish it off I added a few of the Pastel Adhesive Backed Gems.

Mystery Fun Fold

If anyone knows the name of this mystery fun fold please let me know. And I’d love to see your versions if you give it a try.

Sadly the By the Bay DSP and Friends are like Seashells stamp set are retiring. To find out more about how the last chance sale works check out my post here. And the best place to see what’s still available is my online shop. Don’t wait! Things have been selling out fast! It’s been hard to keep up this time around.

2023 Retiring Products

Just last week Stampin’ Up! released it’s list of 2023 retiring products! This time of year is always bittersweet for me. I’m excited for the new products coming in the new Annual catalogue and I’m sad to see the retiring products go. And sadly there always seems to be a few that hit harder than others. For me this year that’s the Friends are like Seashells stamp set and the Layering Circles and Stitched Rectangles dies. The dies especially are ones that I use so often!

As always Stampin’ Up is making room for the great new products coming in the new Annual catalogue that launches in just 3 weeks. Plus this year Stampin’ Up! did a Colour Refresh. So some colours we’ve been used to seeing in the Annual catalogue are also retiring. A couple of my favourites are a part of this too… Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizzazz. To help ease the pain of products leaving they’re offering up to 60% off!

I always say this when the list comes out, but this year it’s especially important. If there’s something on your wishlist that’s retiring don’t wait!!! After only a week ALOT is already sold out! Thankfully there’s still lots that’s available. But there’s no guarantee that things will still be available on May 1st (the last day of the sale).

In my more than 10 years as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator I’ve never seen retiring products sell out so fast! So don’t wait until all the 2023 retiring products are gone! For the most up to date information on what’s still available check my online shop. I just can’t keep up with it this year!

Check out the card I shared last week that features some retiring products that are still available here.

2023 Retiring Products

Goodbye Polished Pink

For the past few weeks I’ve been featuring the 2021-2023 In Colours to get ready for this. This list of retiring products is now officially out! And that means it’s officially time to say goodbye Polished Pink. I’ll talk more about the list next week, so stay tuned. And over the next couple of weeks I’ll be featuring some of the retiring products in my projects. But if there’s something you really want, don’t wait! Things are selling out already!

For this card my main colour is Polished Pink, of course. And I’m pairing it with one of my favourite colours Blackberry Bliss. This is a bit of an unlikely colour combination but it works. Polished Pink is definitely a colour that’s had me scratching my head at times to figure out what to pair it with. And now that I’m getting the hang of it, it’s retiring. Grr!

The images I’m using for this card are also retiring. I’m really sad that Butterfly Brilliance is retiring (dies too), but I’ll be holding on to this one. I stamped the butterflies in Polished Pink and the sentiment too, which is from Something Fancy. To keep Polished Pink as the focus I used Blackberry Bliss mainly as a background colour. Including the typed text from Quiet Meadow.

To add a little something more to the card I also embossed the piece of cardstock with the stamped text using the Timeworn Type 3D embossing folder. Then on top of that, and the butterflies, I used one of the Something Fancy dies to frame the sentiment. To finish it off I popped up the sentiment and added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels for a little bling.

Goodbye Polished Pink

While I’m sad that it’s time to say goodbye Polished Pink… and Butterfly Brilliance, I’m excited for the new catalogue. And I can’t wait for my pre-order to arrive so I can start sharing some new projects with you!

Check out a couple more retiring colours here. I can’t believe that Pear Pizzazz is retiring too! This summer is going to be a busy one with purging and reorganizing my craft stash!

For the latest on what is still in stock from the retiring list, check out my online shop. I’ve never seen things sell out this quickly before so don’t wait!!

Easter Treat Bags

The Easter long weekend is just a few days away! I can’t believe how fast this year is going by, can you?! To celebrate we always do the big family dinner. And I also make a little something to hold a few treats for my munchkins. This year I’m making Easter Treat bags!

To make these I played around with the dimensions to make sure they would fit what I picked up. And I used a mix of retired and currents products. The Designer Series Paper and stamp are retired. I used some different designs from the recently retired Dandy Designs DSP pack from this year’s Sale-a-bration. The colours in this pack of patterned paper are nice and bright. So they’re perfect for this project! The stamp is from a few years ago, but those bunnies are so cute I just had to keep them.

The ink colours are the current part of the treat bags. I pulled the colours from the DSP designs; Fresh Freesia, Petal Pink, Mango Melody and Coastal Cabana. The die that I used to cut out the bunnies is also current; the Framed Florets dies. And I popped them up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To put it all together I used Tear & Tape Adhesive. It’s such a good, strong adhesive for 3D projects or fancy fold cards. Then to finish them off I filled them up with some colourful slime and chocolate. I pinched the tops of the bags a little bit too.

Easter Treat Bags

These Easter treat bags turned out really cute! In the end I made 4; 2 for my munchkins and 2 more for my nieces.

Check out another project I made using the Dandy Designs DSP here.

There’s a new list of retiring products now. So check out my online shop for all the info and discounts!

Goodbye Fresh Freesia

Stampin’ Up! shared how they’re freshening up their colours for the upcoming catalogue with demonstrators this week. I’m sad and excited about what’s to come and I think you will be too! With the new Annual Catalogue coming in just a few weeks I’ve been taking some time to share projects with the 2021-2023 In Colours. As part of this I’ve been sharing projects this week to say goodbye Fresh Freesia. So imagine my surprise when I find out that I don’t have to!

Fresh Freesia is one of my favourites of the 2021-2023 In Colours. So I decided to use it to craft my card for my team’s monthly sketch challenge. Here’s the sketch we’re working with…

goodbye fresh freesia

For my design I’m using the Happiness Abounds bundle (which sadly is retiring) to create a pretty bouquet of flowers. Fresh Freesia is the main colour, of course, but I’m also using Pale Papaya and Pear Pizzazz. I did a little bit of tone on tone stamping with Pear Pizzazz for the leaves. And then I used Fresh Freesia and Pale Papaya for the different kinds of flowers.

Behind the flowers I added a strip of Burlap ribbon from the Real Red & Burlap ribbon combo pack. Then popped up the centre, larger flower with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. The sentiment comes from the Friends are like Seashells stamp set. And I stamped that with Fresh Freesia ink and then used the Layering Circles dies. To have it on the same level as the centre flower I added a few more Dimensionals. Then finally to finish it off I added a few Brushed Brass Butterflies.

Goodbye Fresh Freesia

I’m so glad I don’t have to say goodbye Fresh Freesia! Sadly we do have to say goodbye to Pale Papaya. Check out one of the projects I featured last week using that colour here.

And if you want a sneak peek at some of the new colours, check out this YouTube video from Stampin’ Up!

Scrapfest 2023

I can’t believe it’s almost April already! Spring is here! And I’m hoping the warmer weather and pretty colours will be here soon. In the meantime I’m getting ready to join Scrapfest 2023. I joined for the first time last year and I’m excited to be going back.

If you haven’t been to Scrapfest before here’s what you can expect… lots of different exhibitors with patterned paper, embellishment, stamp set and more! There’s also different classes that you can join if you buy more than a general admission. And of course it couldn’t be called Scrapfest without a crop! I haven’t been to a crop in ages! I miss bringing all my crafting/scrapbooking supplies and taking over a table to work on my projects.

To get ready I’m going through my craft stash and purging. This is always bittersweet! While I love all my crafting supplies, I only have so much room. And even though I tell myself I’m going to keep using these stamp sets, etc. I’ve realized that I don’t really. I’m sure that sounds familiar to many of you! I’m also making some new craft projects to sell. Of course there will be lost of cards for sale, including fancy fold cards like this one here. Plus this year’s Make & Take uses a fun and simple technique!

I’m looking forward to Scrapfest 2023! Seeing some familiar faces and making some new friends. I hope to see you there!

For more information check out their website.

Scrapfest 2023

Collage Stamping with Happiness Abounds

I don’t know if you can call this a technique. But I think it kind of is. And it’s a great one to use if you’re into making more simple cards without lots of die cuts and embossing. I’m talking about Collage Stamping! And I’m doing some collage stamping with Happiness Abounds. This is such a great stamp set for this! Lots of sentiments to choose from and a variety of images to create your collage. Of course you can always mix and match different stamp sets if you like.

Since I’m crafting with Pale Papaya that was the first colour in my combination. This is one of my favourites from the 2021-2023 In Colours and am definitely going to miss it when it retires in a couple of weeks! And since I’m using the Happiness Abounds stamp set I chose Pear Pizzazz as my second colour. Then for my third colour I went with Crumb Cake. I always like at least 3 colours for a card like this and Crumb Cake is a nice subtle, neutral colour.

To create my collage for the background I started with the larger flower image with Pale Papaya ink. Then I stamped the ink splatter image from Quiet Meadow with Crumb Cake ink. And to fill in any open spaces I used Pear Pizzazz ink with one of the leaf images.

For the next layer I simply stamped a sentiment with Pear Pizzazz ink and then stamped a few of one of the smaller flowers around it. Then I die cut it with the Stitched Rectangles dies and did the same with the next larger die to create a Pale Papaya frame. I popped this up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. And then to finish it off I added a few Brushed Brass Butterflies.

Collage Stamping with Happiness Abounds

I just love this card using Collage Stamping with Happiness Abounds! Check out my card from earlier this week using Pale Papaya and Happiness Abounds here.

And be sure to check out my online shop! Some of he 2021-2023 In Colour products are already low inventory!

#SimpleStamping with Happiness Abounds

I’m sharing another #SimpleStamping challenge today! This time I’m doing some #SimpleStamping with Happiness Abounds. And this month we’re only allowed to use stamps, ink and paper to make a birthday card.

For this design I wanted to use Pale Papaya. Each week over the next few weeks I’m featuring one of the soon to be retiring 2021-2023 In Colours. I’m sad that this colour is retiring soon! This have been one of my favourites from this group. So to go with the Happiness Abounds stamp set and Pale Papaya, I’m using Pear Pizzazz to finish off my colour combination. I’m using the Pear Pizzazz for the card base. And then I’m also doing some tone on tone stamping to create a border with some of the smaller images.

With the Pale Papaya, I stamped a few of the larger flowers on a piece of Basic White cardstock. Then framed it with some Pale Papaya cardstock. To make it a birthday card I stamped “happy” in one font from the Biggest Wish stamp set right on top of the flowers. Then on a separate piece of cardstock I stamped “birthday” in a different font with Pale Papaya. And then I popped all these up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

#SimpleStamping with Happiness Abounds

To step this card up there are a few different options. You can add some Wink of Stella to the flowers in the centre. Or you can add a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels. And if you want to you could use some of the great rectangular dies!

Even without those, I really like this card using #SimpleStamping with Happiness Abounds. Simple can still look pretty!

Check out the In Colours I featured last week here… or here. Since it was St. Patrick’s Day last week I ended up using both Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen in my projects.

And don’t forget to stock up on any of the 2021-2023 In Colour products soon! Polished Pink inkpads are already on low inventory! Once these sell out they are gone! Here’s the link to my online shop.

Window Slider Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

A new month means a new Fancy Folds Design Team blog hop! And this month we’re making a Window Slider card! Even though I needed to take my time with this one, it’s still an easy card to make. Check out this video from Dawn, a US demonstrator. She gives the measurements and you can go step by step along with her if you need to.

This week I’m crafting with all things green since today is St. Patrick’s Day. So that’s where I started with my design. I’m using Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen because these greens go so well together. But also because I want to show off these great colours before they retire and while they’re still available. I used Evening Evergreen as the card base and a piece of the In Colour Designer Series Paper in Soft Succulent for the card mat.

Most of the images and the sentiment on the front of the card come from the Bottled Happiness stamp set. I also threw in a splash of Fresh Freesia for the flowers because I love how greens and purples go together. But the hidden sentiment comes from the Friends are like Seashells stamp set. I really hope this one carries over… it’s definitely a favourite of mine, no matter what time of year it is!

To make it easier to slide out the inner piece of Basic White cardstock I used my retired 1/2″ circle punch. This is one I’m never getting rid of! And then to finish it off I added a few Pearl Basic Jewels around the “window”.

Check out the next Window Slider card by Mette Nording Shaw from Australia here. And remember to keep hopping around the world to see them all!

To check out last month’s Fancy Folds Design Team blog hop, start here. Last month we made a Diamond Flip Fold card.

Green Handmade Card

This Friday is St. Patrick’s Day! I don’t know about you, but I don’t do a lot of crafting for St. Patrick’s Day. Although I might enjoy a green beer. Instead I decided to make a simple green handmade card. Stampin’ Up! has SO many different greens to choose from. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I don’t have all of the different shades so I just looked at what I had and chose three.

I chose Granny Apple Green, Old Olive and Mossy Meadow for my card. The inspiration for this card came from a design I saw on Facebook that reminded me of an Argyle sweater. And the All That dies has a great die to create that same pattern. I haven’t used this die very often so I’m glad I had this idea. Once I had a whole bunch in each colour I stuck them on a piece of Basic White cardstock using Mini Glue Dots.

The card base is Basic Black to really show off the different shades of green. On top of my argyle background I stamped a simple sentiment using the Biggest Wish stamp set. Then I cut it out with one of the Layering Circles dies and popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. To finish it off I added a few of the Brushed Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots.

Green Handmade Card

This green handmade card was fun to make! Check out my Facebook live here, which is where I first shared this card. You can also check out one of the other cards I made using the He’s All That bundle here. I love this bundle and hope it carries over to the upcoming new Annual Catalogue!

If you do like to do St. Patrick’s Day crafting then you should definitely check out the Lucky Clover stamp set! This is such a cute stamp set, but I have a feeling it’ll be retiring once the Mini Catalogue is finished.

Hello Irresistible

I’m having a lot of fun this week with the new online exclusive Hello Irresistible Designer Series Paper. It’s such pretty patterned paper! Lots of great colours and a variety of designs too.

For this design I’m using a sketch I’ve used before. This way I can show off a couple of the different designs. And to help the colours from the DSP really pop, I’m using Basic Black cardstock for my card base.

In the background I stamped some paint splatter from the Quiet Meadow stamp set using Tuxedo Black Memento ink. The sentiment comes from the Beauty of Friendship stamp set. (It’s so easy to forget about the great products in the Annual Catalogue sometimes) Then I die cut the sentiment using one of the Layering Circles dies and popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. To finish it off I added a few of the Loose Frosted Dots.

Hello Irresistible

Sadly, as I write this, the Loose Frosted Dots are temporarily sold out. But the Hello Irresistible DSP is in stock. I do wonder how long that’ll last though. It’s really pretty and really popular!

Check out some other cards I made using this online exclusive DSP here and over on my Facebook page.

And of course you can grab this and any of the other online exclusive products in my online shop!

Online Exclusives

Stampin’ Up! is offering something sort of new. They’ve done this once or twice before, but now they’re making it a regular things… online exclusives! So these are products you’ll only be able to find online. No use looking in any of the catalogues! And right now there are a bunch of online exclusive products. One of my favourites is the Hello Irresistible Designer Series Paper!

There are some great colours and designs in this pack of patterned paper. And so I wanted to have this be the focus of my card. I’m using Petal Pink as my card base since it’s one of the colours in this more pink design.

On top of this pretty paper I added some Basic White die cut pieces using the Meadows dies. The “thank you” is from the Something Fancy stamp set. I heat embossed it with gold. And then cut it out with one of the coordinating dies. Next I popped up my tag and added some of the gold trim from the Simply Elegant Trim pack.

Online Exclusives

I just love the colours and designs of the Hello Irresistible DSP!

Be sure to check out all the online exclusives in my online shop. There isn’t a timeline for how long these will be available and not all of these will be restocked. So don’t wait long if you see something you love!

And if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me!

Decorative Borders

I got the Decorative Borders stamp set back in November at OnStage. That’s when I was knee deep in my holiday crafting and not too long after that we were off to Disney. So I haven’t really had a chance to craft with it yet. Finally I’m digging it out!

For this card I decided to make a Z-fold card. This is one of my favourite fun folds. And for my colour combination I’m using Pear Pizzazz and Crumb Cake. Pear Pizzazz is probably my favourite colour for leaves and other greenery. And with Spring coming I have a feeling I’ll be using it alot!

To start, I stamped a little something on the inside piece of Very Vanilla cardstock. Then I stamped a wall of foliage for the outer panel using Pear Pizzazz. I also did some tone on tone stamping for the middle panel.

The sentiment comes from the Something Fancy stamp set. I stamped it with Crumb Cake ink and cut it out with one of the coordinating dies. Then I popped it up some some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

A few more ideas popped in my head as I was making this card. So I’m looking forward to crafting some more with the Decorative Borders stamp set.

Check out another card I made with this stamp set here. Sadly the other stamp set I used, Adorable Owls, is no longer available. But you can really swap in any stamp set from your craft stash.

Need some supplies? Head over to my online shop and grab the Decorative Borders stamp set… along with whatever else you need!

Adorable Owls

I can’t believe it’s the last day of Sale-a-bration already! And that means its time to say goodbye to the Adorable Owls… and all the Sale-a-bration products. Adorable Owls is definitely my favourite stamp set from this catalogue. These guys are just too cute! So for my last card I of course had to use this stamp set.

I wanted to pair this stamp set with the Country Gingham Designer Series Paper. That’s one of the ways I figured out my colour combination. I also wanted to colour my little friend and Balmy Blue is one of the watercolour pencils in Assortment 2. So I’m using one of the Balmy Blue designs and paired it with Crumb Cake.

Above the DSP I stamped some leaves and flowers from the Delicate Borders stamp set. Then I layered my owl on top. I used one of the Framed Florets dies to cut out my owl and create the frame with Crumb Cake cardstock. To colour my owl I lightly coloured with Early Espresso, since there isn’t a Crumb Cake watercolour pencil, and Daffodil Delight for the beak and feet. I coloured the owls eyes with Balmy Blue and lightly all around him for a bit of sky.

From here I popped up my framed owl using some Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then added a phrase from the Adorable Owls stamp set with Crumb Cake ink which I also popped up.

Adorable Owls

It makes me sad to say goodbye to these Adorable Owls, but I think I’ll be holding on to this stamp set so I’m not too sad.

Check out another one of my favourites from the Sale-a-bration catalogue here. And make sure to head over to my online shop before the end of today if you want to grab some last minute Sale-a-bration products. Once they’re gone… they’re gone!